Ted Koppel's Capital Tour of a New China

Some broadcasters have always worked in high definition -- they didn't have access to the technological wonder, but they did seem blessed with the gift of natural communication, erudite but accessible. Ted Koppel is a perfect, or near-perfect, example, and he proves it again with "The People's Republic of Capitalism," a report on changing China that is the latest and most ambitious entry in the "Koppel on Discovery" series of documentaries.

At four hours spread over as many consecutive nights (starting tonight at 10 and continuing through Saturday), the Discovery Channel program does seem a trifle self-indulgent, and several trifles repetitious. Then again, Koppel and company are tackling a huge subject, one made timelier by the approach of what could be a grand moment for China: the Beijing Olympics. In addition, the show establishes early and often that China's fate and that of the United States are inextricably interlinked.

East may still be East and West, West -- as Kipling said -- but the twain are now meeting like crazy.

Despite the epic acreage that the program occupies, this viewer found himself engrossed, impressed, delighted and fascinated -- if also, at times, frustrated, only because Koppel won't sufficiently trust the visuals and seems to think that if he isn't talking, nothing is being imparted. The show is no travelogue -- there are plenty of those on cable channels already -- but the four hours are decorated with enthralling sights that have the added allure of being mostly unfamiliar.

Chongqing (pronounced chong-ching) serves handily as the symbol and model of a radically changing China, a nation transforming itself from agrarian to industrial in a big, big way and leaving the remains of quaint stereotypes lying crushed in the dust. About 300 million Chinese have been brought out of poverty already, Koppel reports, and many of them are being transplanted from decrepit villages to modern Chongqing, the rapidly growing city in central China to which many an American company has also been lured -- from Briggs & Stratton to Ethan Allen to Liberty Mutual to Apple, the great high-tech avatar itself.

A Wal-Mart Supercenter is not only the biggest but also, surprisingly, the poshest store in town, favored by members of China's still-new and happily affluent middle class. When American companies go to China, of course, American jobs go with them. But Koppel, eager to keep a happy face on the story, points out ways in which the U.S. economy benefits from the arrangement. A young woman who complains bitterly about losing her job to cheap Chinese labor is only too happy to take advantage of the low-priced consumer goods that the same labor helped make possible.

In the China of Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution, "ambition of any kind was stifled, smothered," Koppel says, but now the entrepreneurial urge and the desire to get ahead have the Chinese working overtime, dreaming the big dream. On the other hand, this is still the nation of Tiananmen Square, and Koppel points out that "free market" hardly guarantees political freedom. Far from it, for all the changes. "There are lines you don't cross," he says. "Talk about anything you like; just don't get political."

More than once, Koppel and crew were nudged away from politically sensitive subjects. Chinese people-on-the-street were usually reluctant to criticize the government or to complain about the status quo. In a remote township with no running water, Koppel encounters a feisty 93-year-old village matriarch who refuses to be uprooted in the name of progress but who, when asked by Koppel to cite the "best time" to live in China, says "right now."

Koppel comes across memorable characters as he ventures from city to country and back. A 17-year-old girl has questions for Koppel, as well as answers: "Do you guys get high pay?" she asks. Koppel: "Yeah, we get high pay, yeah." Girl: "How much?" Koppel: "Too much. Maybe you should be a television reporter. What do you think?" She laughs an effortlessly disarming laugh. Koppel kind of sours the sequence later by saying that the girl had "an attitude." Why, because she didn't swoon at the sight of Mr. Big-Shot Television Reporter?

There's a haunting visit with a young man who seems to be thriving as a fashion photographer in booming Chongqing but who says bluntly that he finds the work unfulfilling. "My mind is empty," he says, "the result of a Chinese education," given its facts and figures and lack of "imagination."

Never one to shy from a hot spot, Koppel visits a VIP brothel in posh surroundings, as well as tawdrier sites in the city's "low-end red-light district." He drops in at a gay night club with transvestite entertainers (homosexuality was illegal under Mao, he reports, and still tends to be clandestine). At a karaoke bar, some of the smiling young women line up to greet customers. Koppel calls the club "gaudy and tacky," clumsily imposing his standards on another culture.

Mostly, he does a remarkable and admirable job, relying far more on vignettes and personalities than on facts, figures and tight-lipped officials -- except where the tight-lippedness is on the revealing side, where the refusal to illuminate is itself illuminating. The most impressive illumination is Chongqing at night, a glorious island of light in the dark grasp of embracing rivers.

The passing years have added many character lines to Koppel's face, making him arguably more Hobbitty in appearance. But Koppel -- who it was just announced will join BBC World News America as a contributing analyst -- still manages to seem commanding, especially when dressed in a black suit and black turtleneck, his head balanced on top of his torso like a friendly planet.

He knows exactly when to let his guard down, at least a little -- as during a chat with schoolgirls who are struggling with their first words in English. A little girl in a pink jacket is heart-meltingly sweet when she carefully enunciates the simple pleasantry, "Nice to meet you, too." Koppel beams, as who wouldn't?

The extremely handsome animated opening credits are worth noting, as is the dedication that ends the film: to John Alexander, a young producer who died during production.

For Koppel and executive producer Tom Bettag, "The People's Republic of Capitalism" represents a major achievement, and for viewers, the opportunity for an utterly enchanting education -- and probably the most beautiful report on economics ever done.

The first of four installments of The People's Republic of Capitalism (one hour) debuts tonight on Discovery at 10.